Herzliche Gruesse Ruby!
Have you read the book "The Great Pain Deception"? I'm reading it now and it's extremely helpful. The author managed to beat his TMS mainly by increasing activity and ignoring the pain, deconditioning the pain response. Through that physical process, he actually released rage. He really ramped up his activity. When he felt more pain, he'd be even more active, aggressively so. And when he felt less pain, he'd sometimes do a little less to "reward" his subconscious mind for stopping its tricks.
When we have repressed emotions, we have an excess of "anger energy" in the body. So, by doing something like running hard, you're using up the extra energy and releasing the tension. That's mostly what the author did. He didn't go and see a counsellor or do any journalling (as far as I have read).
He also used self-soothing methods after he'd run aggressively, from eating something tasty to watching comedies, to using progressive relaxation.
Really, it's important to do what suits you in healing. So, if journalling isn't for you, don't pressure yourself into it (more pressure from our perfectionist selves!) There are other ways of releasing all that tension. As long as you recognise where the anger probably comes from, deeply believe that it is causing your symptoms, and increase activity without caring about pain, actively ignoring the pain, that can be all that may be required for healing.
I'm going to do journalling even though I don't feel the anger because I need to make a coherent story of my life (this is not part of the TMS program, but me trying to heal from the trauma of a Narcissistic parent). So, it's a necessary thing for me, even if I don't feel the anger at first - or at all. And don't forget, we can heal through understanding and forgiveness too. We don't always have to feel or express anger in traditional ways - we just need to acknowledge where we have probably repressed it.
